The Hillcats didn’t make it back from Myrtle Beach until 5 a.m., so the team chose not to take batting practice today. Players usually have to report to the stadium by 1 p.m., but they didn’t have to get here until 3 today.

The radar does not look promising at the moment. The NOAA forecast calls for a 90 percent chance of heavy rain this evening, and there’s a TON of red on the radar to the west of here, from Staunton to Bristol on the I-81 corridor. Hearing there might be a tarp pull right around game time ...

Anyway, let’s get to the lineups:

FREDERICK (28-19)

Xavier Avery lf (.297, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 13 SB)

Kyle Hudson cf (.238, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 13 SB)

Ronnie Welty rf (.264, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 3 SB)

Joe Mahoney 1b (.322, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 4 SB)

Miguel Abreu 2b (.208, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB)

Buck Britton 3b (.266, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB)

Greg Miclat ss (.298, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 3 SB)

Bobby Stevens dh (.212, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 2 SB)

Brian Ward c (.197, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB)

Ryan Berry RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 APP, 1 GS, 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K)

LYNCHBURG (19-28)

Josh Fellhauer lf (.297, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 3 SB)

Cody Puckett rf (.281, 6 HR, 2 RBI, 5 SB)

Carlos Mendez 1b (.299, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB)

Devin Mesoraco c (.335, 10 HR, 31 RBI, 2 SB)

Alex Buchholz 3b (.288, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 5 SB)

Neftali Soto dh (.272, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 0 SB)

Jose Gualdron 2b (.313, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB)

Miguel Rojas ss (.224, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB)

Efrain Contreras cf (.200, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB)

Curtis Partch RHP (2-3, 3.53 ERA, 8 APP, 7 GS, 35 2/3 IP, 40 H, 14 ER, 13 BB, 25 K)

Some noteworthy stuff ...

—LHP Matt Fairel, the Hillcats’ opening day starter, has been promoted to Double-A Carolina. No corresponding move has been made yet. Fairel has been a pleasant surprise for the Reds, going 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA. Opponents are batting .216 against him. It’s a legit move, but it helped that some spots opened up above Lynchburg when the Reds placed Homer Bailey on the DL, necessitating Sam LeCure’s promotion to Cincinnati.

—While the Cats were on the road, the Reds cut Byron Wiley altogether and promoted Efrain Contreras to Lynchburg from Dayton. The Reds also moved LHP Daryl Harang back to Carolina and promoted LHP Donnie Joseph to Lynchburg. Joseph is the No. 21 prospect in the Reds system in Baseball America’s rankings and he was dealing in Dayton (2-1, 0.78 ERA, 6 saves, 40 K in 23 IP). He figures to be a back-end guy here who will probably pick up a save opportunity or two.

—Former UVa standout Greg Miclat is still with Frederick, and he’s playing well, batting .298 with 6 RBI and 3 SB.

—Former first-round draft pick and Chris Lang’s favorite Frederick Key ever Billy Rowell is STILL in Frederick but is “inactive” for this series. No further details available. As a public service, I like to remind people that Rowell was taken one pick ahead of two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft. And you wonder why Baltimore is eliminated from the playoffs by April 15 every year.

—Josh Fellhauer has hit in nine straight and 14 of his last 15 games, batting .381 with five doubles, a homer, five RBI, 11 runs, three walks and two steals over that span.

—Curtis Partch is making his first start since May 18. He pitched three innings of scoreless relief May 23 at Winston-Salem. In his last nine innings, he’s allowed nine hits, one earned run, walked one and struck out seven.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION

Thursday’s scores

MLB—Cincinnati 8, Pittsburgh 2
The Reds got six strong innings from Johnny Cueto (9 Ks) in a rout of the Bucs.
Reds’ record: 28-20, 1st NL Central, 1 game ahead of St. Louis

AAA—Louisville (Reds) 6, Gwinnett (Braves) 0
Aroldis Chapman struck out seven and allowed three hits in five scoreless innings. Plus, Chapman was 1-for-2 at the plate, raising his average to .444.
Bats’ record: 22-25, 4th International League West, 6 1/2 GB

AA—West Tenn (Mariners) 7, Carolina (Reds) 4
Mike Costanzo went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Mudcats.
Mudcats’ record: 22-25, 4th Southern League North, 6 GB

HiA—Lynchburg (Reds) 7, Myrtle Beach (Braves) 6 (10)
Devin Mesoraco hit his 10th home run and the Hillcats survive another shaky outing from the bullpen to win the battle of the Carolina League’s two worst teams.
Hillcats’ record: 19-28, 4th Carolina League North, 9 GB

LoA—Lake County (Indians) 7, Dayton (Reds) 6 (10)
Shane Carlson led the Dragons with two RBIs.
Dragons’ record: 19-29, 7th Midwest League East, 10 GB